Telecommunications services for inmates and other detainees in prisons and other controlled environments is a controversial and important subject. Inmates have a right and deserve to regularly communicate with at least family members and providers of legal services. Wardens and other supervisors of controlled environments must provide such services but are responsible for security of inmates and employees. Wireless devices in controlled environments present particular challenges as they are small and can therefore be concealed and moved about easily.
In traditional telecommunications systems of controlled environments, the administrative costs involved in recording and maintaining data associated with inmate phone use are limited by the number of phone kiosks in the controlled environment. This number is typically small and therefore makes it reasonable to maintain such administration via a single conventional, centralized computing center, whether located on site in the correctional facility or in a remote site. However, as the number of these telecommunication devices and the complexity of the system increases with the introduction of mobile devices to prisoners, inmates, arrestees, residents or other detainees in controlled environments, the amount of cost and complexity involved in maintaining the records and monitoring permissions increases significantly.